Meanwhile Tameside and Glossop, which borders Huddersfield, has the badge of shame as the lowest of all spenders, at just £9.69 per head.

In the past few years parents have told the Examiner of the shocking delays in getting for help for their children.

Mums and dads waiting for treatment by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Kirklees have told of four year waits with youngsters waiting for diagnoses on the autism spectrum particularly hard hit.

Following the revelations in 2014 and 2015, Kirklees’ CAMHS amazingly declared its own service “not fit for purpose” and vowed to improve.

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A spokesperson for the CCGs in Kirklees said: “Commissioners have been very aware of the historical lack of funding to support Children and Young People’s (CYP) mental health and wellbeing and, since 2015, have taken steps to transform CYP support services which are detailed in our annual CAMHS Transformation Plan.

“This has led to increased investment and staffing levels, and the development of newly commissioned services which are accessible across Kirklees.”

Prof Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “It is deeply worrying that money allocated for child and adolescent mental health services is not always reaching the frontline.

Prof Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Image: publicity picture)

“Helping a child to overcome mental illness will have a positive effect for the rest of their life.

“Early intervention also ensures further NHS savings down the line as fewer people return with untreated long-term mental health conditions as adults.

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“We cannot continue to live in a society in which mental health services favour those living in certain parts of the country and continue to fail those living elsewhere.

“Our NHS will not withstand the long-term strain such a system places on its patients and its staff, particularly at a time when not enough medical students are opting to choose psychiatry and provide those much-needed services.”